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When Toni and Matt were getting ready to move into their new place, Matt had gotten in touch with me and asked if I had any security cameras that he could use until everything was moved and they were totally settled in there. Now, at that time they didn’t have the internet activated, so there really wasn’t much I could provide that would be helpful. I had one small camera that could record to a microSD card, but it wasn’t meant for 24/7 monitoring – and besides, if someone broke in, they’d just take the camera along with whatever else they wanted, and nobody would be the wiser. 😏

Well, they’ve been living there for months now… but for some reason, after that one time of me and Matt trying to figure something out for security cameras, the whole idea of it had completely left my thoughts. 😐 Even after I set up my own house with multiple cameras, and after I got a camera for Genesee, I still didn’t think until just earlier tonight that Matt and Toni are probably the two people that need cameras like that the most. 🤷🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️ I wouldn’t say that their area of town is that much more sketchy than any other neighborhood you might pick on a map, but it’s an area that’s definitely more active – with random assholes on the street, on the sidewalks, in the back alleys… 😯

I don’t need to justify it, but Toni really does a lot for me, Mom, and Dad, and she’s always been that way. A “helper” like her mother. 🙂 And that is just the excuse that I need to get her and Matt a couple of the security cameras like I use here at my house. If I was a good cousin I would have thought to do this for them months ago, because Toni works hard for her stuff, Matt works hard for his stuff – and neither of them should ever have to deal with any of their stuff going missing… at least not without video to show them who did it. 📹😯

I’m still amazed at the features of these “Yi” branded cameras, which you can still get for about $20. They’re the older models, and only 720p resolution, but they’re still absolutely fine for basic security needs like theirs. And like I told Toni, when she said she’d pay me back… I told her that I was happy to get them a couple of the cameras so they could play around with them and see what they thought – and then rather than paying me back, I told her to just take that money and put it towards a couple more cameras if they end up becoming fans and wanna expand their web of surveillance. 😎

I wanted to brag about my new toys for a second. 😎 I dumped all of the Hershey Kisses out of my stocking, which I could tell were concealing other non-kiss-shaped things inside, and slowly started pulling out the other stuff. A pocket sized Simon game, a teeny Stretch Armstrong (which works surprisingly well), lots of unusual candy bars for my wrapper collection, and then a miniature replica of Dumbledore’s magic wand from the Harry Potter movies. 🤓 There were also a few squishy catnip ball toys for Maven.

Then in the regular presents, there were two particularly neat things. The first is a “do it yourself” music box kit. 😯 It looks like it has the hand-cranked music box mechanism, and then several long bits of paper for holes to be punched into, player piano style. One is pre-punched, and looks like it’s a demo reel to give you an idea of what you’re supposed to be doing. It’s gonna be challenging to see if I can come up with something original on my own. 🤔 Pretty sure I’ll end up using the laptop to plot and test my punches before they are punches.

The second thing is a full-sized wand, which is very nicely made/packaged and would make a great gift even if that’s all that it was. But it’s also a universal remote control, and you can program it with different commands based on what motions you make with it. 😄 Point it at the TV and it turns on, flip upwards and the channel goes up, rotate it to the left and the volume goes down, etc… I only glanced through the manual so far, but when I figure out how to get it working properly it’s going to be exceedingly nerdy and cool. 😋